It’s about ethics, Governor
If we left it up to public officials to decide whether their behavior was ethical, we suspect we would have the most self-proclaimed ethical government, ever. That’s not how it’s supposed to work, though.
This is why we have an ethics board, such as it is, in the form of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. And as long as we’re stuck with it, JCOPE is the place public officials are supposed to go when they’re looking for ethical guidance.
Which brings us to Gov. Kathy Hochul. She may have the best of intentions when it comes to her personal ethics. But she owes it to New Yorkers to get a credible second opinion, and to share it with the public.
Governor Hochul is married to William J. Hochul Jr., who is general counsel and senior vice president of Delaware North, a privately held international gaming and hospitality company with interests in New York. They include management of food, beverage, retail and lodging at the Gideon Putnam in Saratoga Springs;
food, beverage and retail at Niagara Falls State Park; ownership of Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack and Hamburg Gaming; concessions at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, Keybank Center in Buffalo, Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, and the Syracuse Hancock and Buffalo Niagara airports. And it is has an interest in talks for a new $1.4 billion Buffalo Bills stadium that’s likely to include public financing.
Delaware North has said Mr. Hochul will not be involved in matters that involve state oversight, and the governor told The Buffalo New that she and her husband “have developed a very strong internal ethics among ourselves.”
That’s all well and good, but it is not enough to say that Governor Hochul is well aware of the potential conflicts of interest and the need to avoid them. Nor is it enough to say that Mr. Hochul, as a former federal prosecutor, fully understands what ethical behavior looks like. Or for Delaware North to assure the public that it has strong firewalls to guard against impropriety.
This is the kind of situation in which bodies like JCOPE can have their experts — and yes, for all its shortcomings JCOPE does have experts — draft guidelines on what is and is not permissible under the circumstances and the state’s laws and ethical rules. Advisory opinions are, in fact, one of JCOPE’S statutory roles; all that’s needed is for the governor to request one.
Whatever the opinion, it should be in writing and made public by the governor in its entirety (JCOPE can release advisory opinions but must remove identifying information, which could result in substantial redactions). It would give members of the public a chance to judge for themselves whether the finding and constraints are appropriate.
A governor who promised to meet the highest ethical standards and restore public faith in government must do more than ask New Yorkers to take her word for it. They deserve to see it in writing.